Carrier aviation, amphibious lift, and defence choices

Why were turbofan Buccaneers and Spey Phantoms on carriers overlooked?

The issue was not that the aircraft lacked value; British priorities and spending shifted toward the central front and away from fixed-wing carrier aviation.

Aircraft, tanks, and landing ships emerge here as parts of the same procurement problem. The end of fixed-wing carrier aviation followed a political decision to emphasize the central European front and avoid greater defence spending, rather than evidence that Buccaneers or Spey Phantoms lacked value. The same logic threatens land forces when dock-equipped amphibious ships disappear. Without viable ships to put heavy equipment ashore, a small armoured force cannot readily contribute to an overseas deterrence mission.